Mahayan means 'Greater Vehicle'. This meant they were able to carry more people to salvation.
There were 3 major differences from early Buddhism:
1. They worshiped Buddha as a god, which gave the religion a spiritual focus.
2. They believed in Boddhisatvas, which were people who had reached nirvana but stayed on earth to help others who were struggling.
3. The Buddhist monasteries accepted large sums of money from the wealthy saying that this was the way they could get salvation and so the wealthy just paid the monasteries and didn't have to observe the rules.
Buddhism was becoming increasingly popular and was taught in educational facilities, and that spread the religion as well.
Mahayana Buddhism 222-224
Mahayan means 'Greater Vehicle'. This meant they were able to carry more people to salvation.
There were 3 major differences from early Buddhism:
1. They worshiped Buddha as a god, which gave the religion a spiritual focus.
2. They believed in Boddhisatvas, which were people who had reached nirvana but stayed on earth to help others who were struggling.
3. The Buddhist monasteries accepted large sums of money from the wealthy saying that this was the way they could get salvation and so the wealthy just paid the monasteries and didn't have to observe the rules.
Buddhism was becoming increasingly popular and was taught in educational facilities, and that spread the religion as well.
By EH
Buddha Statue